You have to admire Phil Oakey's guts. In the late 1970s in Sheffield I got beaten up for wearing a green blazer. Admittedly it was years after I'd left school and, in hindsight, a poor fashion decision. But it shows that Yorkshire yobs had no time for the unusual, so the Human League singer's decision to parade around town with his distinctive haircut – short one side, long and hippy the other – always seemed to me to be brave in the extreme.

The band were not too shabby either, moving from beep-beep experimentalists to fully fledged pop band within a couple of years, complete with fractured egos and the traditional musical differences along the way.

The traditional history of the Human League has them discovering a couple of dancers in Crazy Daisy nightclub, recruiting them as singers and soaring to fame and fortune in the 1980s as a consequence, with Don't You Want Me the No 1 hit to seal the deal.

But before all that, the League tested the pop waters in 1979 with a pseudonymous release under the Men soubriquet. I Don't Depend on You has all the attributes that led to the League's success – a catchy synth tune, singalong lyrics and a proper chorus. No "listen to the voice of Buddha / saying stop your sericulture" here.

The template may not have been successful in its own right but it showed the band the way forward. And after that the League's star shone brightly if briefly – perhaps the way all pop stars should shine.

Of course that was not the end of the story, with a reunion, new album and new tours. But I like to think the single by the Men, unheralded at the time, marked the moment the Human League moved from cult status to potential stardom.